No matter if you are a human or an immortal, you can still farm for me after traveling through time!

With the arrival of April, the last trace of cold air lingering in Chang'an completely retreated to the north, waiting to move south again during the Frost Descent season.

This day was different from any other day. Before dawn and the drums for the opening of the market were sounded, people could feel the restless atmosphere in the city.

The results were announced yesterday, and today is the day when the top three scholars lead the other newly-minted Jinshi and their fellow Jinshi in a parade to enjoy the flowers!!

This is the last annual parade, and the next one will not be held until three years later.

This parade ceremony was one of the activities of the entire Qujiang Conference. After the results of the palace examination were announced, various banquets and ceremonies followed, including the Thanksgiving Banquet, Wenxi Banquet, Apricot Blossom Banquet, Cherry Banquet, Peony Banquet, Deer Singing Banquet, and dozens of other large and small banquets.

Among these dozens of banquets, the one with the largest number of participants and the longest duration is the "Qujiang Conference". The people of Chang'an City will witness and participate in this feast together!

If we want to organize an entire Qujiang Conference seriously, it will take at least a month and at most several months.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Qujiang Convention is a grand event where all the people can enjoy themselves together!!

Today's Qujiang Conference includes several activities: a parade, an apricot blossom banquet, nominations under the tower, and a Qujiang banquet. The remaining activities such as the Tanhua Envoy, Peony Banquet, and Cherry Banquet will be held one by one in the following days.

In today's parade, the newly-appointed Jinshi will ride horses to visit all the famous gardens in Chang'an. As the number one scholar, they will be the center of attention. They will wear red brocade robes and hairpins with flowers on their heads, ride on tall horses, and receive the onlookers and congratulations of the people together with the second and third place winners and other newly-appointed Jinshi behind them. The scene will surely be very lively.

The parade started in front of Chengtian Gate in the palace and ended at Qujiang Garden.

At that time, the emperor and his concubines would stand on the Ziyun Tower of Furong Garden, the royal forbidden garden in the garden, look north through the curtains, and watch the carnival of the new scholars.

All the officials and nobles looked around the city to see if there was any suitable candidate among this year's Jinshi, to see if they could choose a suitable husband for their unmarried girls.

The successful candidates drank wine and sailed on the Qujiang River in the garden, drinking and composing poems while appreciating the beautiful scenery and enjoying the joy of success.

At the end of the day, not only Li Sanlang, but even Ji Qingyue, the spectator, was shocked by the scene of the empty streets in Chang'an City.

Before the parade began, Ji Qingyue arrived at Zhuque Street early to wait for the parade to begin. When he arrived at Zhuque Street, the street, which was more than 150 meters wide, was crowded with people standing on both sides. People from Chang'an, Hu people and other foreigners were all looking forward to it, and were curious about what the top three winners of this year would look like, especially the third place winner who was more handsome than everyone else.

Ji Qingyue learned the ranking from Li Sanlang yesterday, so of course he knew who would take the top three spots.

This year's top scholar is Mo Qingyuan, from Fengzhou in Lingnan. He's only seventeen years old! One year younger than Li Sanlang!

The second and third place winners are both from the north, one from the northeast and the other from the northwest.

On the crowded streets, countless guards used their bodies as a wall to block the surging tide of people.

Someone shouted, "The Suzaku Gate has opened! The number one scholar is about to emerge!"

Ji Qingyue relied on his height advantage, stood on tiptoe and was half a head taller than the crowd, and easily saw the team under the Suzaku Sect.

I saw the imperial guards leading the way, with three tall horses of different colors carrying people walking in the middle. The three people on the horses were the top three winners of this year.

They were wearing brocade robes bestowed by the emperor, and the patterns embroidered with gold thread sparkled in the rising sun.

Following the top three were eighty-five newly-appointed Jinshi scholars, all dressed in their best clothes, proudly riding on their horses, receiving the gazes and blessings of the entire city.

Li Sanlang is in the team behind.

Ji Qingyue scanned the team and searched for a while before finally finding Li Sanlang wearing the brocade clothes given by Princess Yong'an.

At this time, Li Sanlang held the reins tightly, skillfully controlled the direction of the horse, and followed the team steadily.

Thanks to the horse riding lessons I learned from my second brother, I can now walk in the parade with ease.

The horse gallops in the spring breeze, and I can see all the flowers in Chang'an in one day.

This is what all students dream of all their lives. At this moment, Li Sanlang was extremely excited, but he also missed his family far away in Shandan.

Although the family cannot witness this moment in person, when the wedding invitation is delivered to their home, they will surely be ecstatic and will surely feel happy and proud that he has passed the imperial examination.

Li Sanlang only had gratitude and respect for Ji Qingyue in his heart, and had regarded him as his own brother for a long time.

Brother Ji, who accompanied him to Chang'an, must be among the crowd now.

Thinking of this, Li Sanlang straightened his chest and looked forward with his head held high, like a little lion returning triumphantly after catching its prey.

Ji Qingyue looked at Li Sanlang, who was sitting upright on his horse, walking down the street in front of him, and a smile appeared on his lips.

Li Sanlang's final ranking was in the upper three. If he had a better future, he could stay in Chang'an and be a minor official in the capital. If he had a worse future, he would be assigned to be a local official, usually of the eighth or ninth rank, and then move up step by step.

However, it is too early to think about these things now. If I cannot be appointed as an official this year, I will have to wait until next year and take the imperial examination with those Jinshi who have not yet been appointed as officials and are staying in Chang'an.

Now, except for the top three, the future path is clear, while the future of others is still unknown.

After the parade, Li Sanlang returned home feeling weak and frail. He quickly boiled some hot water to take a bath to relieve his fatigue.

After not riding a horse for a long time, I suddenly rode a horse for a day, and my body naturally couldn't bear it. If I didn't relax my muscles and veins quickly, I would definitely have a sore back and waist and be unable to walk tomorrow.

After taking a bath and eating the bowl of porridge that Ji Qingyue had left for him, Li Sanlang asked, "Brother Ji, I'm afraid I can't ride with you to the Peony Banquet hosted by Grand Princess Yong'an tomorrow. Several of my classmates have made plans to accompany me to the banquet today, and among them is my younger brother Yuan—Mo Qingyuan."

Ji Qingyue certainly did not object to Li Sanlang socializing and expanding his network. Instead, he was happy that Li Sanlang was able to make friends.

"What's the top scorer like?" Ji Qingyue was curious about this. "This year's top scorer isn't from the north..."

But he is from Lingnan.

"Although Brother Yuan is young, his knowledge far exceeds that of ordinary people. He is humble and polite to others. We have taken the initiative to approach him to chat and joke with him, and he has never been ignored."

"Do you know exactly where he is from?"

"Brother Yuan is from Fengzhou in Lingnan. Fengzhou...Brother Yuan said it's close to the southeast, not by the sea."

Ji Qingyue nodded. Although he didn't know the exact location, he still wanted to meet this top scholar. If he could chat with this native Lingnan person for a while, he would know what the current situation in Lingnan is like.

Since this top scholar has a good temper and is willing to talk to others, he still has a chance to start a conversation.

As the sun set, Chang'an, which was in the midst of carnival, slowly fell silent, and the first day of the banquet ended in this lively manner.

At the same time, Li Erlang from Ganzhou received a letter from Ji Qingyue. After reading the contents of the letter, his chest felt like a heat wave that was about to erupt. For a moment, he was extremely excited and ecstatic and wanted to rush to the street and laugh out loud.

Saburo passed the exam!

Counting the days, the palace examination results should be out by now. I wonder what place Sanlang finally got. But no matter what the place is, A Niang and the others will definitely be happy.

In addition to Sanlang's matter, Ji Qingyue mentioned Princess Yong'an in the letter. Just as they had expected, using Peony could indeed attract Princess Yong'an's attention.

On the way from Shandan to Chang'an, Ji Qingyue and Li Erlang sorted out the description on the scroll in detail. They compared the information they knew and quickly came up with a guess.

The scene depicted in "A Picture of Mountains" is located in the southwest of Dali.

Only there can you find tall mountains, saltwater lakes and bamboo at the same time.

Why can other unknown areas at the same latitude be ruled out?

Because Ji Qingyue clearly saw the three people who boarded the island in the middle of the lake in a small boat. Both men and women had hairstyles commonly worn by the Dali people: the men wore futou and the women wore high buns. They were very recognizable just by looking at their hair. In addition, the clothes of the three people were all the styles commonly worn by the Dali people.

Thanks to Dali's strict restrictions on population movement, and the fact that two of the three are women, it is not difficult to infer their geographical location.

Based on the mountains and salt lakes, we have been able to rule out most places in the country and focus on the southwest.

The southwest was the territory of Tuyuhun.

Because it was very difficult for women in Dali to travel, which was far less convenient than for men, and the government valued the reproductive value of women, they even ordered that women were not allowed to leave Dali without permission. Therefore, in order to allow two women to leave Dali, they must have obtained the consent of the government and even the court.

What kind of reason could make Dali let the woman leave?

Ji Qingyue and Li Erlang could only think of one possibility - marriage.

Dali actively or passively made peace with the surrounding countries.

Li Erlang tried desperately to dig out information about the princess's marriage in his mind. After thinking for a while, he found very little information.

This is simply because the last marriage occurred forty or fifty years ago.

He was not born at that time, and the country was not completely stable. Wars broke out from time to time, making the people on the border nervous and frightened. The people who were always on the run could not receive much information, and naturally there was even less news about marriage, so there was even less news that could be passed down smoothly.

The common people only remember that forty or fifty years ago, Emperor Hui did send a princess of royal origin to marry Tuyuhun, but no one cares which princess it was or which Tuyuhun king she married. If one wants to know the details, one has to ask the old people who have heard the news.

Finally, Li Erlang and Ji Qingyue had reason to guess that the woman living in the stone pagoda was the princess who married into the Tuyuhun clan.

By calculation, the princess should be in her sixties now.

……

After Ji Qingyue and Li Sanlang left, he stayed in the barracks to train soldiers and had not been able to go home.

Li Erlang decided to ask the general for leave and go home to ask Aung. Maybe Aung, who used to be a scout, would know something.

Li Erlang, who came out to do some business and pick up a letter, immediately returned to the barracks. Just as he was racking his brains for an excuse to ask for leave, Yang Huang sent someone to tell him to go to the big tent.

As soon as Li Erlang entered the tent, Yang Huang got straight to the point and asked impatiently, "Did you know about the results announcement two days ago?"

"I just happened to receive a letter from Sanlang, saying that he was admitted to the Apricot List!"

Yang Huang didn't answer. Li Erlang immediately realized that Yang Huang was not talking about the Xingbang but the Jinbang. So he was so overjoyed that he ignored etiquette and hurriedly asked, "General, how did my Sanlang rank?"

Yang Huang smiled and said, "Why are you so anxious? Your Sanlang got eleventh place in the third class."

Upon hearing this news, Li Erlang wanted to run out and practice some military boxing, then tell everyone in the barracks: his son Sanlang had passed the imperial examination!

Li Erlang suppressed his excitement and saluted Yang Huang. "Thank you, General, for telling me this good news. Please grant me three days' leave so I can return home and tell my family about Sanlang's success!"

Yang Huang still has some tasks to entrust to Li Erlang, so it might be a good idea to give him three days off now. Other matters can be discussed after he returns to the camp.

So Yang Huang generously gave Li Erlang three and a half days off, with today being counted as half a day: "I wonder if you are faster on horseback or if the Ministry of Rites' wedding invitation is faster."

Of course, Li Erlang rode faster.

He followed the ancient mountain road to Shandan, and after half a day and a night, he finally returned to the village at dawn.

When the knock on the door came, the family had just gotten up. Li A'niang was cooking in the kitchen. When she heard the knock on the door, she just called Silang to open the door.

Li Silang is on ten-day holiday today and happens to be at home.

He ran towards the gate excitedly, shouting as he ran: "Who is it?!"

The two black greyhounds had already smelled the familiar scent and were wagging their tails vigorously to express their welcome.

"Me! Your second brother!!"

Li Silang pushed the door bolt faster: "Second brother! Why are you back?!"

When I opened the door, I saw that my second brother was standing tall and majestic, and just standing there quietly could make outsiders retreat.

When the other people in the house heard the sound, they came out of the house and were so happy to see Li Erlang coming home that they couldn't express it in words.

Li Changji, now beard-grown and looking more mature, walked out of the house holding his one-year-old daughter, with five-year-old Tuanlang at his side.

"Second brother!" Li Jinniang called her brother affectionately. After two years of training, the girl who became the manager of the cotton mill had become much more powerful. She was no longer the shy and taciturn little girl who hid behind her family. Her confident and generous appearance made Li Erlang's eyes light up.

Father Li led the horse to the backyard. When he came back, Mother Li had already prepared breakfast and was waiting for him to eat with her.

Li Erlang was chatting with his grandparents. The two elderly people were still in good health, though their joints ached from time to time. However, their appetites were still the same as usual, each eating a large bowl of rice. Now that the two elderly people had officially retired from the fields, they were not allowed to overwork during the spring plowing and autumn harvests; they just stayed at home to help dry the crops.

Li A Niang was still as impatient as ever: "Why are you back? What did the general ask you to do again? Why did he let you go home before leaving?"

Li Erlang suppressed the smile on his face and deliberately kept it a secret: "No."

"Don't laugh so secretly! The corners of your mouth are almost curled up to the sky!" Li A Niang said angrily.

"Sanlang passed the exam!"

For a moment, everyone at the dinner table was silent——

“What!!”

"What you said is true!!!"

"Third brother really passed the exam!!!"

!!!

The Li family members immediately ignored their breakfast and surrounded Li Erlang, cautiously confirming with him again: "Did Sanlang really pass the exam?"

Li Erlang put down his bowl, placed his hands on his knees, and said solemnly, "The general told me the news as soon as he got it. Sanlang passed the exam and ranked eleventh in the third class."

Aunt Li clasped her hands together, tears welling up in her eyes as she rejoiced: "That's great..."

Grandma Li took out her handkerchief and wiped away the tears in her eyes: "May our ancestors bless us...!"

Li Erlang: "The general also said that an official will deliver the wedding invitation to our home soon, so Dad and Mom should prepare the wedding money in advance."

Li A'niang immediately pushed Li A'die next to her, wishing that he would go and prepare the wedding money right away.

"Hey! What's the rush? It's not too late to eat after breakfast!"

Father Li slammed the table and asked everyone to calm down. The wedding invitation had not arrived yet, so no one should tell anyone about this matter in advance. As long as the family is happy, that's all that matters.